System and method for generating notifications for an avatar to conduct interactions within a metaverse

The present disclosure relates generally to network communications and information security, and more specifically to a system and method for generating notifications to greet and facilitate an avatar to conduct interactions within a metaverse.

Interactions may be performed between a user device and an entity in a real-world environment and a virtual environment. A user may operate a user device as an avatar to access the virtual environment for application services with the entity. Current technology does not provide a reliable and effective solution to greet and facilitate the avatar to conduct interactions in the virtual environment securely and effectively to ensure that the interactions are compatible with user identity and interaction history in the real-world environment.

Conventional technology is not configured to greet and facilitate an avatar to conduct interactions in a virtual environment (e.g., such as a metaverse). The system described in the present disclosure is particularly integrated into a practical application to generate notifications to greet and facilitate an avatar to conduct interactions in the virtual environment based on user profile information and historical user interactions associated with an entity in the real-world environment.

The disclosed system is configured to greet and facilitate an avatar associated with a user and a user device (e.g., augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) headset) to conduct interactions in a virtual environment. The disclosed system is configured to identify or establish a link between a metaverse identifier of the avatar in the virtual environment and a user identifier in a real-world environment. The disclosed system is configured to query an interaction database to determine whether the metaverse identifier is linked to a user identifier of a user profile registered with an entity in the real-world environment. If the metaverse identifier is linked to the user identifier, the system may obtain a user name used in the real-world environment and greet the avatar with the user name and grant access to the virtual environment. If the metaverse identifier is not linked to the user identifier, the disclosed system may greet the avatar with the metaverse identifier and communicate with the avatar to obtain the user identifier and authentication data of the user profile. The disclosed system may further establish a link between the metaverse identifier and the user identifier in the interaction database. In one embodiment, the disclosed system may query the interaction database to obtain user historical interactions and generate an interaction notification with a pending task or some interaction options to facilitate the avatar to conduct corresponding interactions in the virtual environment.

In one embodiment, the system for generating notifications to greet and facilitate an avatar in a virtual environment comprises a processor and a memory. The memory is operable to store a user profile registered with an entity operating in a real-world environment. The user profile includes a user name, a user identifier and authentication data. The authentication data is configured to authorize a user device associated with a user to conduct interactions with the entity in the virtual environment. The processor identifies an avatar associated with the user device to initiate an interaction session with the entity in the virtual environment. The processor receives a metaverse identifier associated with the avatar. The processor queries an interaction database to determine whether the metaverse identifier is linked to the user identifier of the user profile. In response to determining that the metaverse identifier is linked to the user identifier of the user profile, the processor retrieves a user name associated with the user identifier of the user profile from the interaction database. The processor presents a first greeting notification with the user name to the user device to grant access to the virtual environment for the avatar. The processor queries the interaction database to obtain interaction data associated with the user identifier. The processor determines whether there is a pending task associated with the user identifier based on the interaction data. In response to determining a pending task associated with the user identifier, the processor presents a first interaction notification corresponding to the pending task to the user device.

The present disclosure presents a practical application that may be implemented by the processor of the server to generate notifications to greet and facilitate an avatar to conduct interactions with an entity in a virtual environment. For example, the server may greet the avatar with a user name used in the real-world environment if the metaverse identifier is linked to a user identifier of a user profile. The user profile is registered with the entity in the real-world environment. These processes provide reliable and efficient solutions to greet the avatar with a real-world identity of a user (e.g., a real user name) and grant an authentication to the avatar to access the virtual environment. If the metaverse identifier is not linked to a user identifier of a user profile, the server may communicate with the avatar to obtain the user identifier and establish a link between the metaverse identifier and the user identifier in the database. These processes also provide a practical application to verify and authenticate a metaverse identity with a user identity used in the real-world environment. Further, the server may present interaction notifications to facilitate the avatar to conduct an interaction to complete a pending task. The server may provide one or more interaction options for the avatar to choose to proceed based on historical user interactions in the real-world environment. In this way, the practical application provides a reliable and effective solution to greet and facilitate the avatar to conduct interactions in the virtual environment based on user profile information and historical user interactions in the real-world environment.

These practical applications lead to technical advantage of improving application service security and efficiency to the overall computer system. For example, linking a metaverse identifier to a user identifier in a real-world environment prevents unauthorized and anomalous interactions in a virtual environment. Further, linking the metaverse identifier to the user identifier integrates the user profile information and historical user interactions in the real-world environment into the virtual environment. Thus, the avatar may access and conduct interactions in the virtual environment securely and effectively to ensure that the interactions are compatible with a user identity, user profile information and historical user interactions in the real-world environment. The disclosed system further improves user experience and saves task processing time to conduct interactions in the virtual environment. Thus, the disclosed system improves computer system security, system compatibility, and interaction operation efficiency of the overall computer system.

Certain embodiments of this disclosure may include some, all, or none of these advantages. These advantages and other features will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

Previous technologies fail to provide efficient and reliable solutions to generate notifications to greet and facilitate an avatar to access a virtual environment and conduct interactions. This disclosure presents a system for generating notifications to greet and facilitate the avatar to access the virtual environment and conduct interactions compatible with user profile information and user interactions in a real-world environment by referring to.

System Overview

illustrates one embodiment of a systemthat is configured to generate greeting notificationsand interaction notificationsto greet and facilitate an avatarto conduct interactions within a virtual environment. In one embodiment, systemcomprises a server, one or more user devices, a blockchain networkand a network. The systemmay be communicatively coupled to the networkand may be operable to transmit data between each user device, the server, and the blockchain networkthrough the network. Networkenables the communication between components of the system. The blockchain networkis a public blockchain network which may be referred to a distributed database shared by a plurality of computing devices in the network. Servercomprises a processorin signal communication with a memory. Memorystores information security software instructionsthat when executed by the processor, cause the processorto execute one or more functions described herein.

In some embodiments, the systemmay be implemented by the serverto greet an avatarentering a virtual environmentand facilitate the avatarto conduct interactions. The avataris associated with a user device(e.g., AR/VR headset) operated by a user to conduct interactions with an entity in the virtual environment. The servermay receive a metaverse identifierof the avatarentering the virtual environment. If the serverdetermines that the metaverse identifieris linked to a user identifierof a user profilestored in an interaction database, the servermay present a greeting notificationto greet the avatarwith the user nameof the user profileand authorize the avatarto access the virtual environment. If the metaverse identifieris not linked to the user identifier, the servermay present a greeting notificationto greet the avatarwith the metaverse identifier. The servermay obtain, the user name, the user identifierand the authentication datafrom the user based on user inputs. The servermay further establish a linkbetween the metaverse identifierand the user identifierof the user profilein the interaction database. The servermay present interaction notificationswith a pending task or one or more interaction options based on historical user interactionsfor the avatar.

System Components

Network

The networkmay include any interconnecting system capable of transmitting audio, video, signals, data, messages, or any combination of the preceding. The networkmay include all or a portion of a local area network, a metropolitan area network, a wide area network, an overlay network, a software-defined network a virtual private network, a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile telephone network (e.g., cellular networks, such as 4G or 5G), a Plain Old Telephone network, a wireless data network (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiGig, WiMax, etc.), a Long Term Evolution network, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network, a peer-to-peer network, a Bluetooth network, a Near Field Communication network, a Zigbee network, and/or any other suitable network. The networkmay be configured to support any suitable type of communication protocol as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

User Devices

A user deviceis a hardware device that is generally configured to provide hardware and software resources to a user. Examples of a user deviceinclude, but are not limited to, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a laptop, a computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a smart device, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, or any other suitable type of device. The user devicemay comprise a graphical user interface (e.g., a display), a touchscreen, a touchpad, keys, buttons, a mouse, or any other suitable type of hardware that allows a user to view data and/or to provide inputs into the user device.

Each user deviceis configured to display a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) representation of a virtual environmentto a user. Within the virtual environment, each user may be associated with a user deviceand an avatar. An avataris a graphical representation of the user deviceassociated with the user and the user profilewithin the virtual environment. Examples of the avatarsinclude, but are not limited to, a person, an animal, or an object. In some embodiments, the features and characteristics of the avatarmay be customizable and user defined. For example, the size, shape, color, attire, accessories, or any other suitable type of appearance features may be specified by a user. By using the avatar, a user or the user devicecan move within the virtual environmentto interact with an entity associated with the serveror other avatarsand objects within the virtual environment.

is a block diagram of an embodiment of the user deviceused by the system of. The user devicemay be configured to display the virtual environment(referring to) within a field of view of the user (referring to), capture biometric, sensory, and/or physical information of the user wearing and operating the user device, and to facilitate an electronic interaction between the user and the server. The user devicecomprises a processor, a memory, and a display. The processorcomprises one or more processors operably coupled to and in signal communication with memory, display, camera, wireless communication interface, network interface, microphone, GPS sensor, and biometric devices. The one or more processors is any electronic circuitry including, but not limited to, state machines, one or more central processing unit (CPU) chips, logic units, cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), field-programmable gate array (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or digital signal processors (DSPs). The processormay be a programmable logic device, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or any suitable combination of the preceding. The one or more processors are configured to process data and may be implemented in hardware or software. For example, the processormay be 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit or of any other suitable architecture. The processormay include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for performing arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that fetches instructions from memory and executes them by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components. The one or more processors are configured to implement various instructions. For example, the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions to implement the function disclosed herein, such as some or all of those described with respect to. For example, processormay be configured to display virtual objects on display, detect user location, identify virtual sub, capture biometric information of a user, via one or more of camera, microphone, and/or biometric devices, and communicate via wireless communication interfacewith serverand/or other user devices.

Memoryis operable to store any of the information described with respect toalong with any other data, instructions, logic, rules, or code operable to implement the function(s) described herein when executed by processor. The memorycomprises one or more disks, tape drives, or solid-state drives, and may be used as an over-flow data storage device, to store programs when such programs are selected for execution, and to store instructions and data that are read during program execution. In some embodiments, the memorymay store and/or include a browser or web application for a user deviceto interact with the entity, such as, for example, to access application services (e.g., application) in the virtual environment.

Displayis configured to present visual information to a user (for example, user in) in an augmented reality environment that overlays virtual or graphical objects onto tangible objects in a real scene in real-time. In other embodiments, the displayis configured to present visual information to the user as the virtual environment(referring to) in real-time. In an embodiment, displayis a wearable optical display (e.g., glasses or a headset) configured to reflect projected images and enables a user to see through the display. For example, displaymay comprise display units, lens, semi-transparent mirrors embedded in an eye glass structure, a visor structure, or a helmet structure. Examples of display units include, but are not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an active matrix OLED (AMOLED), an organic LED (OLED) display, a projector display, or any other suitable type of display as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art upon viewing this disclosure. In another embodiment, displayis a graphical display on a user device. For example, the graphical display may be the display of a tablet or smart phone configured to display an augmented reality environment with virtual or graphical objects overlaid onto tangible objects in a real scene in real-time environment and/or virtual environment.

Camerais configured to capture images of a wearer of the user device. Cameramay be configured to capture images continuously, at predetermined intervals, or on-demand. For example, cameramay be configured to receive a command from the user to capture an image. In another example, camerais configured to continuously capture images to form a video stream. Camerais communicably coupled to processor.

Wireless communication interfaceis configured to facilitate processorin communicating with other devices. Wireless communication interfaceis configured to employ any suitable communication protocol.

Network interfacemay be configured to use any suitable type of communication protocol and enable wired and/or wireless communications. as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Microphoneis configured to capture audio signals (e.g., voice signals or commands) from a user. Microphoneis communicably coupled to processor.

GPS sensoris configured to capture and to provide geographical location information. For example, GPS sensoris configured to provide a geographic location of a user deviceassociated with a user. GPS sensormay be configured to provide the geographic location information as a relative geographic location or an absolute geographic location. GPS sensormay provide the geographic location information using geographic coordinates (i.e., longitude and latitude) or any other suitable coordinate system. GPS sensoris communicably coupled to processor.

Examples of biometric devicesmay include, but are not limited to, retina scanners and fingerprint scanners. Biometric deviceis communicably coupled to processor. Biometric devicesare configured to capture information about a person's physical characteristics and to output a biometric signal based on captured information.

Server

Referring back to, the serveris a hardware device that is generally configured to provide services and software and/or hardware resources to user devices. The serveris generally a server, or any other device configured to process data and communicate with user devicesvia the network. The serveris generally configured to oversee the operations of a virtual interaction engine, as described further below in conjunction with the operational flows of a methoddescribed in. In particular embodiments, the servermay be implemented in the cloud or may be organized in either a centralized or distributed manner.

Processor

The processoris a hardware device that comprises one or more processors operably coupled to the memory. The processoris any electronic circuitry including, but not limited to, state machines, one or more central processing unit (CPU) chips, logic units, cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), field-programmable gate array (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or digital signal processors (DSPs). The processormay be a programmable logic device, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or any suitable combination of the preceding. The processoris communicatively coupled to and in signal communication with the memoryand the network interface. The one or more processors are configured to process data and may be implemented in hardware or software. For example, the processormay be 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, or of any other suitable architecture. The processormay include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for performing arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that fetches instructions from memory and executes them by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components. The one or more processors are configured to implement various instructions. The processormay be a special-purpose computer designed to implement the functions disclosed herein.

In an embodiment, the virtual interaction engineis implemented using logic units, FPGAs, ASICs, DSPs, or any other suitable hardware. The virtual interaction enginemay be configured to perform operations of the methodas described in. For example, the virtual interaction enginemay be configured to generate greetings notificationsand interaction notificationsto greet and facilitate an avatarto conduct interactions in the virtual environment. As another example, the virtual interaction enginemay be configured to facilitate the avatarto conduct interactions within a virtual environmentusing real-world resources, such as user profile information and historical user interactions.

The memorystores any of the information described above with respect toalong with any other data, instructions, logic, rules, or code operable to implement the function(s) described herein when executed by the processor. The memorycomprises one or more disks, tape drives, or solid-state drives, and may be used as an over-flow data storage device, to store programs when such programs are selected for execution, and to store instructions and data that are read during program execution. The memorymay be volatile or non-volatile and may comprise a read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and static random-access memory (SRAM).

The memoryis operable to store information security software instructionswhich may comprise any suitable set of instructions, logic, rules, or code operable to execute the virtual interaction engine. In an example operation, the memorymay store a virtual operation interaction model, an application, an application programming interface (API) service, and other program models which executed by the processorto implement operational flows of the system of. The applicationmay be a metaverse application associated with an entity that provides application services to an avatarassociated with a user and a user devicein a virtual environment.

Database(e.g., interaction database) may be a remote database, a cloud database, or an on-site internal database. Databasemay be coupled to or in communication with and accessed by the servervia the network. As illustrated in, the databaseis an internal database and stores information including user profiles, metaverse identifiers, links, user inputs, historical user interactions, greeting notifications, and interaction notifications.

A user profilemay include a user identifier, a user name, and authentication data. The use may register a user profilewith the entity operating in a real-world environment. The user identifierrepresents a user identity and is associated with the user name, authentication data, and historical user interactions which are stored in the interaction databased. The user namemay be a real name of the user associated with the entity in the real-world environment. In some embodiments, Authentication datamay include user credentials and be configured to provide authentication for a user with a user deviceto interact with the entity associated with different systems or platforms. The servermay verify user authentication based on authentication datato grant an authentication to the avatarto access a plurality of virtual operation areasto interact with the entity in a virtual environment. A user profilefurther includes a physical address, email address, phone number, and any other data, such as documents, files, media items, etc. The plurality of user profilesmay be stored by the processorin the memory.

Each metaverse identifierrepresents an avatarassociated with a user or a user devicein the virtual environment. The linksmay include a plurality of identity links and each linkmay represent a connection between a user identifierof the user profileand a metaverse identifierof the avatar. The historical user interactionsmay include any pending tasks, such as open service tickets, recent interactions or anomalous request records. For example, the recent interactions may include call center interactions and online interactions. The online interactions may occur between the user and the entity in the real-world environment and/or the virtual environment.

The virtual environment informationcomprises user informationand environment information. The user informationgenerally comprises information that is associated with any user profilesassociated with user accounts that can be used within a virtual environment. The environment informationincludes data of virtual operation areas-and corresponding virtual locations. For example, user informationmay comprise user profile information, online account information, digital assets information, or any other suitable type of information that is associated with a user within a virtual environment. The environment informationgenerally comprises information about the appearance of a virtual environment. For example, the environment informationmay comprise information associated with objects, landmarks, buildings, structures, avatars, virtual operation areas, or any other suitable type of element that is present within a virtual environment. In some embodiments, the environment informationmay be used to create a representation of a virtual environmentfor users. In this case, a virtual environmentmay be implemented using any suitable type of software framework or engine.

Examples of a virtual environmentinclude, but are not limited to, a graphical or virtual representation of a metaverse, a map, a city, a building interior, a landscape, a fictional location, an alternate reality, or any other suitable type of location or environment. A virtual environmentmay be configured to use realistic or non-realistic physics for the motion of objects within the virtual environment. For example, some virtual environmentmay be configured to use gravity whereas other virtual environmentmay not be configured to use gravity.

The real-world informationcomprises user informationand environment information. The user informationgenerally comprises information that is associated with user profilesand user accounts that can be used within the real world. For example, user informationmay comprise user profile information, account information, or any other suitable type of information that is associated with a user within a real-world environment. The environment informationgenerally comprises information that is associated with an entity within the real world that the user is a member of or is associated with. For example, the environment informationmay comprise physical addresses, GPS based locations, phone numbers, email addresses, contact names, or any other suitable type of information that is associated with an entity. Since the serverhas access to both the virtual environment informationand the real-world information, the servermay link the virtual environment informationand the real-world informationtogether for a user such that changes to the virtual environment informationaffect or propagate to the real-world informationand vice-versa. The servermay be configured to store one or more maps that translate or convert different types of interactions between the real world informationand the virtual environmentand vice-versa.

The servermay generate a virtual environmentbased on the virtual environment informationand the real-world information. In some embodiments, the virtual environmentcomprises a plurality of associated virtual operation areas. Each virtual operation areamay represent a metaverse branch of the entity. In one embodiment, the virtual operation areasmay be configured and executed by the processorto provide one or more services provided by an entity at different physical locations in the real-world environment. The servermay be configured to store one or more maps executed by the processorthat translate or convert different types of interactions occurred in the virtual operation areasbetween the real-world informationand the virtual environmentand vice-versa.

Within the virtual environment, an avataris generated by the processoras a graphical representation of a user devicewithin the virtual environment. The avatarincludes a plurality of features and characteristics which are processed by the processorto present the avataras the graphical representation of a user devicein the virtual environment. For example, the servermay receive a signal indicating a physical location of the user deviceand/or detect the user devicein the real-world environment. The servermay store the received signal in the memory. The servermay determine a virtual locationof the avatarassociated with the user devicein the virtual environmentbased on the physical location of the user device. The servermay obtain the environment informationand environment informationassociated with the virtual locationand the physical location of the user device. The servermay generate and present an avatarin the virtual environmentbased on the obtained environment informationand environment information. By using the user device, the avatarcan move or maneuver and interact with entities, other avatars, and objects within the virtual environment.

Network interfaceis a hardware device that is configured to enable wired and/or wireless communications. The network interfaceis configured to communicate data between user devicesand other devices, systems, or domains. For example, the network interfacemay comprise an NFC interface, a Bluetooth interface, a Zigbee interface, a Z-wave interface, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) interface, a WIFI interface, a LAN interface, a WAN interface, a PAN interface, a modem, a switch, or a router. The processoris configured to send and receive data using the network interface. The network interfacemay be configured to use any suitable type of communication protocol as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Virtual Interaction Engine

Virtual interaction enginemay include, but is not limited to, one or more separate and independent software and/or hardware components of a server. In some embodiments, the virtual interaction enginemay be implemented by the processorby executing the information security software instructionsto create a virtual environmentwith a plurality of virtual operation areas-. The virtual interaction enginemay be implemented by the processorby executing the applicationto detect a user device, generate an avatarassociated with the user device, and receive a metaverse identifierfor the avatarin the virtual environment. The virtual interaction enginemay be implemented by the processorto execute a virtual operation interaction modelto identify or establish a link between the metaverse identifierof the avatarand a user identifierof a user profilein the real-world environment. The virtual operation interaction modelmay be executed by the processorto generate a greeting notificationto greet the avatarwith a user nameor the metaverse identifier. The virtual operation interaction modelmay be executed by the processorto generate interaction notificationsto provide a pending task or one or more interaction options to facilitate the avatarto interact with the entity in the virtual environment. The operation of the disclosed systemis described below.

Linking a Metaverse Identifier to a User Identifier to Greet an Avatar in a Virtual Environment

This process may be implemented by the serverto identify or establish a link between a metaverse identifierof the avatarand a user identifierof a user profile. Based on the metaverse identifierof the avatar, the servermay query an interaction databaseto determine whether the metaverse identifieris linked or mapped to a user identifierof the user profile. The user profileis registered with the entity in real-world environment. In one embodiment, the servermay search the metaverse identifierin the interaction databaseto determine whether the metaverse identifieris linked or mapped to a user identifierof the user profile.

In response to determining that the metaverse identifieris linked or mapped to a user identifierin the interaction database, the servermay retrieve a user nameassociated with the user profilefrom the interaction database. The user namemay represent a real name or physical name of a user associated with the entity in the real-world environment. The servermay generate a greeting notificationto greet the avatarwith the user nameand grant an authentication to the avatarto access the virtual environment. The greeting notificationmay comprise one or more of textual data, audio data, or video data. For example, the servermay generate or present a greeting notificationto greet the avatar, such as “Hello Joe!”

In response to determining that the metaverse identifieris not linked or mapped to a user identifierin the interaction database, the servermay generate a greeting notificationto greet the avatarwith the metaverse identifier. The servermay further communicate with the avatarto obtain user profile information including the user identifier, the user name, and the authentication data. For example, the servermay send a push notification message to the user devicewith the communication link via the network. The servermay receive user inputsthrough the communication link with the user profile information including a user name, user identifierand the authentication data. The servermay receive audio user inputswith the user profile information from the avataror user device. The servermay present a graphical user interface on the displayof the user devicethrough the applicationto receive user inputsof the user profile information.

The servermay establish a linkbetween the metaverse identifierand the user identifierin the interaction database. The linkbetween the metaverse identifierand the user identifiermay represent an authentication to authorize the avatarto access the virtual environmentand interact with the entity.